Kris Balderston Joins Fleishman To Lead DC Office

WASHINGTON, DC—Fleishman-Hillard has appointed Kris Balderston as senior partner and general manager of the firm’s Washington, DC, office. He comes directly from his position as special representative for global partnerships at the US Department of State.

At State, Balderston led the global partnership initiative within the Office of the Secretary of State, brokering alliances with more than 300 private sector businesses, nonprofit organizations and others to develop practical, market-based solutions to advance US diplomacy, further international development goals and address significant global humanitarian challenges.

His Washington experience also includes tenure in the Clinton White House, where he was deputy secretary to the cabinet and deputy assistant to the President. In the Senate, he served as Sen. Hillary Clinton’s legislative director and then deputy chief of staff.

In addition, Balderston was senior policy advisor to Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell at the US Senate Democratic policy committee, deputy chief of staff in the office of the secretary at the Department of Labor, senior policy associate and project manager at the National Governors Association, and senior policy associate at the Council of State Community Affairs Agencies. Early in his career, he served as director of the Massachusetts state office of Gov. Michael Dukakis.